Unfortunately, we live in the real world, which often paints a much different picture.
You wonder why this is so complicated.
He writes:
I have 2 PCs connected to the same new, managed Netgear switch.
All my gear is 1000Gbps capable.
Im not understanding the huge speed difference between testing on same subnet via same router/cable modem?
(Its a lot!
Two cable modems, two mesh systems, lots of Ethernet and coaxial cable.
Its quite a story.)
At least, Im assuming wired.
Its also possible that the speed test is reporting different results simply because…they do.
However, its strange to see such wildly different results from thesamespeed test accessing the same theoretical testing location.
Ive always liked usingfast.com, but there areplenty of others.
You want to determine if youre seeing the same crazy variance between your two systems across multiple tests.
If so, we can start to narrow down our troubleshooting to something potentially related to the ailing system.
Theres a lot we can do to venture to fix that, so lets dig right in.
Start by swapping the Ethernet cables the two PCs useor connecting via another new, cheap Cat 6 cable.
Perhaps the web connection cable youre using on your slower PC is having an issue.
You might even have a loose connection of some sort.
Try a different cable.
I presume that PC #1 and PC #2 are both connected to your router the same way.
When youre running your tests, double-check youre connecting directly from router to desktop.
Dont forget to reset everything on your online grid before running your speed tests.
Yes, switches are generally dumb, but theycanact up sometimes.
If this hasnt fixed the issue, dig deeper.
Try connecting your Ethernet cable(s) to different ports on your switches or router.
Does PC #2 have a second Ethernet port you’re able to use?
Try that and see what happens.
Its possible theres an update that has fixed a defect thats otherwise costing you speed.
(Are there any strange networking-themed apps on your system that you dont recognize or dont use?
Uninstalling themmight help.)
Thats all I can think of, though.
Hopefully one of these techniques will solve your tricky issue.
Even if they dont, though, 400Mbps on one system isnt too shabby.
